1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure generally relates to point-to-point (PtP) wireless links, and more specifically to an Adaptive Coding Modulation (ACM) system that provides hitless modulation changes in double capacity links.
2. Related Art
Traditionally, the majority of consumer demand in the area of mobile backhaul networking has been directed to voice services. However, recently the market for mobile backhaul services has begun to change. In particular, the mobile backhaul space is experiencing a growing demand for increased capacity as well as a shift from voice services to data services. These factors are driving mobile backhaul networks towards high capacity Internet Protocol (IP)/Ethernet connections.
Similarly, mobile backhaul networking is experiencing a transition to fourth generation (4G) standard and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. This transition is also driving the need for higher capacity, and is moving more packet traffic onto mobile backhaul networks.
In an effort to meet the growing demand for increased capacity, mobile backhaul networks have begun to implement systems that can handle double capacity communications. For example, some mobile backhaul networks have begun to carry out communications using cross polarization (XPIC), spatial multiplexing, and/or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques. However, these double capacity communication techniques are generally implemented using two completely independent channels, where each channel typically utilizes its own Adaptive Coding Modulation (ACM) scheme. Therefore, these conventional double capacity communication techniques are unable to perform system optimization techniques, which often results in inefficient communication (i.e. link unavailability).
Additionally, there is a problem associated with communicating over wireless links. Specifically, in wireless connections, unlike wired connections, such as fiber optic cable, or copper cable, to provide some examples, link capacity may change for various reasons including, but not limited to, environmental conditions. Therefore, as mobile backhaul networks continue to transition to 4G and LTE networks, and as systems rely more and more on these wireless links, it is increasingly becoming a problem to cope with these changing link conditions while also meeting the growing demand for increased capacity.
Thus, conventional mobile backhaul networks do not effectively cope with these changing link conditions, nor are they able to effectively meet the increasing demands for capacity.
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the reference number